Desert Duals Preview
Desert Duals Website – hosted by Wartburg in Las Vegas
DIII Teams: #1 Wartburg, #2 Coe, #14 Cortland, #16 Elmhurst, #18 Williams, #20 Johnson & Wales, #23 Olivet, #27 Lakeland, Chicago, Concordia University Wisconsin, Ohio Northern, Pacific
Others: Embry-Riddle, University of Great Falls
Ranked Potential Competitors:
125: #2 Rush (Coe), #3 Oster (Elmhurst), #9 Penny (ONU), #10 Kittleson (Wartburg)
133: #2 Kelly (Wartburg), #7 Cucciniello (JWU)
141: #2 McKray (Wartburg), #7 Tucker (Olivet)
149: #3 LeBlanc (Cortland)
157: #1 Wernimont (Wartburg), #2 Brew (Olivet), #3 Doan (Elmhurst), #8 Flok (Lakeland)
165: #1 Hanson (Wartburg), #2 Burkle (Coe)
174: #1 Vanderhyde (Olivet), #4 Owens (JWU), #10 Carlson (Chicago)
184: #5 Lenhardt (JWU), #7 Malo (Williams)
197: #4 Kramer (Coe), #8 Shandri (Wartburg)
285: #4 Sander (Coe), #5 Helgerson (Wartburg), #7 Corsello (Elmhurst), #9 Sutter (Lakeland)
#1 Wartburg and #2 Coe are the top teams competing this weekend in Las Vegas, though they won’t see each othere here. Six other ranked D3 teams will compete, and it’s a good mix of teams from the Midwest and East as teams look to get some out of region exposure. Additionally, it’s one of the only times that Pacific sees DIII competition other than at the Great Lakes Regional.
157 is the weight class with the most firepower, as four ranked wrestlers, including 1, 2, and 3, will be competing. Aaron Wernimont, a former d3wrestle.com/WWSport.com Wrestler of the Week, has won 56 matches in a row and recently achieved his 100th career win. Jason Brew of Olivet is fresh off an OW performance at the Ohio Northern Invitational, and he comes in ranked 2nd. Another matchup to watch is at 125 where #2 Rush and #3 Oster could meet. Both were All-Americans last year. Finally, #1 Vanderhyde and #4 Owens could meet in the JWU-Olivet matchup at 174.
The fans, the NCAA seeding committee, and the various rankers all hope that the teams bring their top wrestlers to this event so that as many matches as possible happen between wrestlers who may meet again in March at the NCAA tournament.